Thursday, 30 May 2013

My love for lipsticks has gone from non-existant to obsessive in the past 2-3 months. All of a sudden I am HOOKED! It miiiight be because I'm studying makeup, but whatevs. I've really fallen in love with orange and purple lipsticks lately, and today I have one of each!

#912- Electric Orange. Yep, this is definitely an orange! It's very bright, and in your face, but at the same time, it's very wearable. However, my skin is cool-toned, and this is very warm, so it doesn't reeeeeally suit my skin tone.

#906- Hot Plum. This one is delish! Though, it's not really a plum, very much more an almost neon fuchsia. I keep reaching for this one, it's the easiest way to make any look pop!

I really, really like these lipsticks. They're very creamy, not sticky, light and easy to wear, they smell nice and they last a fair few hours on me without lip liner. Even through a coffee, they lasted quite well. Another really good thing about the lipsticks, is that if the fully opaque colour is too much for you, you can apply it sheerly for a tinted look. They are very buildable.

I picked these up for $16.95 at Priceline while they were having a Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale, so they are $16.95 each. But they are absolutely worth it! They do have some more subtle shades, but all of the shades have very vibrant colours.

Monday, 27 May 2013

I'm gonna be honest with you here- I was SO excited for this weeks ANM. I loooooooooooooove cartoons and I love doing cartoon nail art just as much! I've done it quite often in the past but I will never turn down the chance to do it again.

Now, I'm 23 in juuust over 2 weeks time, and I took my inspiration for this nail art from what was and still is one of my fave cartoons/video games ever...

POKEMON! :D love love love! And what better to portray the awesomeness that is Pokemon than by the most recognisable one of them all- Pikachu! I used China Glaze Lemon Fizz, and Ulta 3 Lilly White, Black Satin and Scarlet. And then, to make it even better, I did a second mani...

Pokeballs! Can't have a Pokemon without a ball ;) For this I used Lily White and Black Satin again, but I used Borghese Red instead of Scarlet.

I really hope you guys enjoy these as much as I do, they were so much fun!

Sunday, 26 May 2013

This is an ultimate case of love at first site for me. As soon as I saw these studs/spikes from Born Pretty Store I knew I needed them... However, when I got them in the mail, I was stumped for mani ideas. So, I went the simple route.

These aren't 100% practical for everyday use, but they're still super cool! As you can see, they are quite large, and potentially dangerous, so be careful! Lol! I stuck the spikes on over Ulta3 Black Satin and paired it with Ozotic 518. The easiest way to apply them is by just picking them up with your fingers and putting them on. You can also re-use these quite easily, I took them off, cleaned the bottom with acetone and they're good to go again! My one complaint about them is that because they are so large, and my nails are quite curved, they don't sit 100% flat. But, that's not the studs fault.

As usual, another fabulous nail art product from Born Pretty Store. And, in case you want to buy, use this code for 10% off at anytime! AFL91

What do you think of the spikes- cool or too much?

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Saturday, 25 May 2013

As well as making some of the most amazing nail polishes ever, Pretty Serious also make cosmetics! I heard that once their current eyeshadows were sold out, they won't be back, so naturally, I bought them all. I'm studying makeup as a part of my course in Beauty at the moment, so I thought I would start doing some make up posts as well here.

So, as I mentioned, I bought all 7 of the eyeshadows. Prepare for pic spam!

CGA- pinkish purple with blue shimmer, almost duochrome

Into Dreams- purple with gold, blue, purple and red shimmer.

Morning Java- brown with gold shimmer

VT100- green with gold shimmer

BSOD- vibrant blue with turquoise shimmer

Tux- blackened green with blue shimmer

Forbidden Fruit- semi-sheer white with goldish shimmer

From top to bottom- CGA, Forbidden Fruit, VT100 and BSOD

Morning Java, Into Dreams, Tux

I love everything about these eyeshadows. They come in 5g pots with sifters, and they are HUGE. They are crazy pigmented, with the exception of Forbidden Fruit, but that's not meant to be opaque. They blend and apply very easily too, and they wear very well. I've been wearing them over Too Faced's Shadow Insurance and I get almost a full 12 hours of wear before they start creasing.

Here's a quick look I did using VT100, Tux and Forbidden Fruit. Such vibrant, amazing colours. I've been taking them into my make up class and all the girls have been loving them too! Like I said, they are discounted to sell out, so if you would like them, please, go here and buy them. You won't be disappointed! Unless you wanted Into Dreams, that's sold out, I know, because I bought the last one!

I'd love to know what you think of me adding in some makeup posts, I was actually quite scared to post this!

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Love Thy Polish is another Aussie indie (how good are they?! seriously...) and the brainchild of the lovely Emma from Nails in the Desert. This polish I'm showing you today is on the brink of being discontinued, so please, if you like it, let her know on her facebook page!

The Only Snow In Town is a white base polish with green micro glitter and a stunning silver shimmer. It's a very complex polish, in that is has a dense-ish glitter, but it's not the in your face type. Subtle.

I have two coats here, and I could have used a third, but I like how it looks here. I think this is a totally work friendly indie, which is kinda rare!

As for availability, Aussie girls can get them from here (the new Dreams collection is gorge!) and international ladies will soon be able to get them here!

Monday, 20 May 2013

ATTENTION EVERYONE: Shades of Phoenix is back from a short break and has a brand spanking new collection available right now (for Aussie ladies)!

The new Let's Hear It For The Girls collection consists of 9 gorgeous new shades, 3 of which I have to show you today, plus another bonus one!

ENYO

Enyo is a decadent rusty-orange jelly base (with a hint of shimmer!) and orange hex and square glitters. This base is super pigmented, and applies beautifully. Not the densest glitter, but I think it works with this polish.

CETO

I have a feeling Ceto might be a popular one in this collection ;) It's a blue-teal jelly base with lots and lots of blue hex/micro glitters and dots! Oh I love dot glitter! This polish took my breath away, it is simply stunning! It reminds me of the ocean, sparkly, deep, blue, and pretty.

ERIS

Eris is my personal favourite. It may be the most unique polish I have seen in quite some time, and that's saying something! What makes Eris so special is that in the black jell base, it is packed with glitter. And this glitter, is all clear. WHAT. The glitters are all clear/iridescent, so against the black base, they become magical duochrome glitters! The gold hexes shift from gold-green (vice versa for the green glitter!), the blue bars turn purple, and theres a sprinkling of red micro glitters in there. The blue bars really, really stand out. Not a huge fan of bar glitter, but this is good enough to convert me!

And finally, a late release from Shades of Phoenix's first collection...

ASTRAIOS

Blackened blue jelly base that is supper full of glitters - silver micro, blue hexes, and silver holo stars. This is a full on glitter bomb- super intense and I loved wearing it. My only complaint was not enough stars, but I didn't really try to fish any out, so y'know...

The formula on all four polishes was the same- perfect consistency and easy to apply. That seems to be consistent with Shades of Phoenix. And I have to express some love purely for the fact that SoP's base colours are IN-SANE! Every coloured base polish of theirs I've tried has been jawdropping, no word of a lie.

So, Aussie ladies, these are available NOW, here. And international ladies, Shades of Phoenix will soon be available HERE.

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the polishes mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Hi guys, today I have another Born Pretty Store product to show you- some Water Decals! Having never tried them before, I was keen to give it a go! I have 2 manicures using them, but the sheets have 11 different designs on them- endless opportunities!

China Glaze Something Sweet and Light As Air with images from one 'style' on the sheet.

NYC Colours Chili with Peita's Polish Zebration and a decal from one 'style' on the sheet.

Using these was surprisingly easy- it's just like a temporary tattoo. I cut the image from the sheet, removed the plastic film, and then using tweezers I submerged the image in water for 20-30 seconds, then took it out, and placed it on the nail, rubbing it slightly. I did find it a bit fiddly to get perfect placement (the heart in the first pic is meant to be in the centre of the nail!), but other than that, they are a breeze to use. You do need to seal it in with top coat too, but we should do that anyway right?!

Don't forget to check out the amazing nail art range Born Pretty has, and also that I have a 10% discount code for you to use at anytime- AFL91!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them*

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Alanna Renee Cosmetics is the brainchild of Alanna from Pretty Purple Polish, and she has just released her second collection. Today I have 1 from that collection and 2 from her first collection.

From the new Magical World collection, which is Harry Potter themed, I have Avada Kedavra. Now, I don't know very much about Harry Potter, but I do know that this polish is awesome! Bright but not neon green base with small white and bigger white matte
hex glitters. This was a lot of fun to wear, I love the base colour.

And from the first collection, Reptar. This polish is exactly how a Reptar-themed polish should be. Pale green base, with some micro glitters in black, white, and a neon yellowy/green, along with larger red and purple hex glitter.

And lastly, Black Cherry. And out of the three this was my favourite- and I love me some greens. Black Cherry has a dark, rich red jelly base and is packed with red glitter in all sort of sizes.

The formula one these is a little on the thick side, and for that reason, these swatches are all only 2 coats. Very easy to manage formula despite being thicker. Every swatch has a coat of SV, but Reptar did need a second after a day of wear. And, Black Cherry did stain my nails a little as well, so I may double up on base coat next time. None of the glitters were hard to fish out or place, nor did they need to be dabbed on.

Alanna has some very unique colours in her line, go check them out!

Until Next Time,

<3 Bec

*these polishes were provided to me in exchange for my honest opinion. this in no way changes what i think*

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the opening of Pretty Serious- an amazing Aussie artisan brand. They released a commemorative polish for the occasion, but I haven't been able to buy it. So instead, I wore one of their most popular polishes today to celebrate...

This is BSOD, the most insanely gorgeous blue glittery jelly. The blue version of China Glaze Ruby Pumps, if you will. This is two coats, with SV to make it glass smooth. And on my index and pinky fingers I have one coat of Dollish Polish It's A Me, Mario! I didn't get any of the stars out, so I placed two loose glitter stars on both nails too.

I have all of the gorgeous eye pigments they make too, I'll post a full post soon!

Monday, 13 May 2013

I just finished all the Disney Princesses, so for this weeks movie themed ANM, I decided to stick with the Disney movie thing! I used their version of Alice In Wonderland!

The colours used in creating this- Femme Fatale Keeper Of The Grove, China Glaze For Audrey, Lemon Fizz and Something Sweet, Ulta3 Black Satin and Lily White, BYS Thunderstruck, and a red holo franken I made. I've used 3D acrylic shapes for the rose and the bow in her hair too.

This is another polish I got from the SA meetup, and I can tell you know I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I do! I googled and could find little to no info about this indie brand though, and that makes me sad because I would love to try more, and get more info about this polish for you! If anyone knows any info, please, pass it on!

Ram-bunctious is a gorgeous raspberry pink jelly base with plenty of purple hexes and some glass fleck style shimmer to it. The base colour of this jelly is super, super pigmented, and more opaque than I was expecting.

This is two coats with SV on top. Really, the only complaint I have about this polish is that the glitter and the shimmer do sink to the bottom, but turning it upside down for 10 minutes fixed that right up- clearly I got enough glitter!

Sunday, 12 May 2013

I don't own a lot of Essie, I don't know why, but I couldn't say no to this one when I saw it! Smokin' Hot is a gorgeous brown/purple-hybrid creme. It's glorious. I couldn't leave this one alone, so I added some striped with China Glaze Something Sweet and some square studs from Born Pretty*.

Saturday, 11 May 2013

I love all of these things: Picture Polish. Glitter. Gradients. Indies. So, I will combine the two whenever I can! Both polishes used in todays post I got from the massive swap the Adelaide branch of the Aussie Nails Group met up.

I used 2 coats of Picture Polish Watermelon as my base, and then added a gradient (and full accent nail!) of Wonder Beauty Products Pink Spun Cotton Candy. Topped with Seche Vite.

This is one nail look that is SO far from what I like that I actually like it! Yes, it's pink, and it has bar glitter, and yet, somehow, I don't hate it! Watermelon is a stunning pink, and perfectly named!

Thursday, 9 May 2013

I've been looking for ways to spice up swatches, and not bore you guys. China Glaze United really had me stumped, until earlier today I saw it sitting next to Essences The Dawn is Broken and KNEW that they would look awesome together!

Blinging leopard print! I love the colour combo, they pop against each other nicely!